While the nearest I’ve been to Britain is through movies and pictures, I much prefer going there through another route; books – through short stories, poems and other forms of literature. Well, it could be the old English countryside but it is nonetheless vividly described with such romanticism and charm; they’ve become places where I always want getting lost to.
My companion while I travel were Wuthering Heights on the Moorish marsh, The Other Boleyn Girl while admiring the rural landscape of medieval England, Tintern Abbey through the banks of the River Wye and of course, Sherlock Holmes through the streets of old London. All these and many other books depicting the British landscape had instilled in me the longing to walk on those cobblestones and see the beauty of patchwork quilt of green fields with my own eyes.
Love for art
Imagine the hysteria I caused when hubby told me to browse for UK city breaks that we can book for on a semester break – I was like an attention-deprived toddler screaming my heart out for a lollipop!
In my head I am already planning where to go, what to do – first, to be inspired by some of the world’s greatest works of art, we’d go visiting: David Hockney at the Tate Modern and Tate Britain, and Salts Mill in Yorkshire, William Tate at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, John Constable at the National Gallery in London, LS Lowry at the Lowry in Salford, Greater Manchester and most of all JMW Turner at the Petworth House in Petworth in West Sussex.
And what about installations and creations of Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko? We’ll visit Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London to see their works…for free!
But, with just a short stay it would be impossible to do everything in one go. I still have to convince hubby for at least 2 weeks of hopping here and there to have everything else done. There are a lot of other whyfors the UK is a top tourist destination, aside from the arts as cited.
Second, and needless to say, photography is one of the other reason why I love to travel in general. That I am able to take a chunk of reality in that particular moment that may never happen again through photos is my motivation. So where are the most picturesque places in the UK for perfect photos?
Here’s my list of what to see when planning UK City Breaks:
World Heritage Sites
Stonehenge, Wiltshire. Still an awe to this day, the prehistoric monument has baffled every visiting individual at how our ancestors were able to carry these humongous stones at where they stand now.
Tower Bridge at Night, London. This bascule and suspension bridge over the River Thames is most picturesque at dusk.
The Jurassic Coast, Dorset. One of Britain’s many World Heritage Site worth visiting in this lifetime. It is consisted of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous cliffs, spanning the Mesozoic Era, documenting million years of geological history. How could one say no to this piece of creation?
Seven Sisters, Sussex. A series of chalk cliffs by the English Channel, occurring naturally as a result of erosion. This is living proof that yes, our Creator knows and has crafted his masterpieces well.
Isle of Harris, Scotland. Talk about an oxymoron of sorts in the most beautiful sense. White-sand beaches spectacularly laid out in front of views of snow-peaked mountains in the distance.
Wastwater Lake, Cumbria. England’s deepest lake and coincidentally the title of the play my daughter takes part in.
Related read: Best places to visit in the UK
Castles
Here’s a list: Warwick Castle in Warwirckshire, Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, Stokesay Castle in Shropshire, Leeds Castle in Kent, the Tower of London in London, Cardiff Castle in Wales and of course, Windsor Castle in Berkshire where the queen resides. I am sure there’s a lot more to list down, with 400 to be found only in Wales, even a whole month won’t be enough to see all.
Wheew! Short UK City Breaks will definitely not suffice to see the grandeur that is Britain, there’s still so many to see and there’s so little space in this humble blog to list all of them. But, you know what I really want to see the most? Jane Austen’s House in Hampshire. You can never just make a hopeless romantic forget her heroines.
photos courtesy of: https://travellers-stories.com/
UK is one of place I want to visit.I hope I can go there and explore the many beautiful scenery and have the opportunity to take pictures too.Thanks for sharing…
h that first photo makes you want to go there right away.. if only!
amazing pictures as always Sis 🙂 I have never been to London but I do love to listen to their accent when they speak 🙂
UK has always been interesting because so many things originated from this place.
wonderful place. UK is not really in my bucket lists but looking at these photos made me want to see it in person.
Lucky you! UK is also one of the places I love to visit and yes! also because of Sherlock Holmes!
your photos are stunning..it captures the very essence of UK travel. just by looking at it, it makes me want to dream of being in UK now.
Definitely one of the places I would love to see someday! I’d love to visit Notting Hill and see where they shot Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts’ movie, I loooove Hugh Grant and I’m also a Harry Potter fan, there’s just something about the British that I find so appealing, perhaps the sexy accent? 😛 I can do a British Accent, but not as awesome as actors can, but pretty decent. LOL 😛 My kids love it. 😛
Wow, the London Eye is awesome!
since it’s near to both of us, can we both have that break? I would love to travel and explore UK, too.
Wow so pretty shots. I like the first one and last one hehehe.
Great Britain will always have a special place in my heart as it is where I first meet my husband in person 🙂 We have a lot of memories in that culture-rich place.
Indeed, there’s a whole lot of thing to do in UK. I have an aunt who sings at Liverpool. It’d be so cool to experience the night life there.